If Airbnb seems too informal, but a management company seems too strict, recent start-up Bnbkeys could be your solution. Launched at the start of this year in Vallauris and is now offering its services in English online, Bnbkeys allows homeowners to rent out their properties short-term without the hassle of managing client demands. For holidaymakers, the fledgling company provides a fivestar welcome service with 24/7 assistance. Riviera Insider speaks to co-founder Charles Semmel.Read more
The Fédération Nationale de l’Immobilier Côte d’Azur (FNAIM) has welcomed a decision by the Municipal Council of Nice not to increase the taxe d’habitation surcharge on people who own second homes in the city. In 2015, France implemented the law requiring a 20% surcharge on properties that aren’t registered as a primary residence in areas of France where there is a recognised housing shortage.
According to CNN, Prince Albert II of Monaco has bought the Philadelphia home where his mother Grace Kelly grew up. The Colonial-style house holds even more history for the Monegasque Princely family, having been the location of Prince Rainier III’s proposal to the future Princess of Monaco in 1956.
In the first half of 2016, 22% more new homes were sold than during the same period of the previous year and 18% more were put on the market. This equates to almost 2,000 sales of new builds per week - an amount not seen since 2006. The speed of the process to buy also decreased from 11 months to nine. Prices for the properties in this bracket remained stable: offers were up 3% and sale prices down 2% per m².
A heartfelt love letter from a long forgotten Antoinette to her beloved Ernest has been unearthed during construction works at the luxury real estate development, Wilson Plaza, in Nice. Perfectly preserved in an old biscuit tin, the handwritten note is dated 1922 and now the developers have embarked on a quest to find descendants of the authoress and perhaps even of her lover. 
Owners and buyers are increasingly investing into the design of their gardens, especially those acquiring exclusive properties, but it is not only the longing for better outdoor living and recreation, or the quest for an adequate representation of their lifestyles, that drives them. Individually and professionally designed gardens are a profitable investment.